Maybe there is something to this “Circle of Life” thing from the Lion King. The Green Bay Packers meet the Detroit Lions Sunday at Ford Field (3:25 CST Kickoff) and the Lions will be coached by Darrell Bevell who got his start in the NFL as an offensive quality control assistant coach under Mike Sherman with the Packers in 2000. The former Wisconsin Badger Rose Bowl winning quarterback rose through the ranks and was the team’s quarterback coach from 2003 to 2005 which happened to be Aaron Rodgers’ rookie season with the Pack. Bevell went on to work with Brad Childress and the Vikings before moving up as offensive coordinator in Seattle under Pete Carroll. He was out of football in 2018 but then joined Matt Patricia’s staff in Detroit. When the Patricia era fizzled out completely two weeks ago, Bevell was named interim Head Coach and then went out and won his debut as the Lions rallied late to beat the Bears in Chicago. Now he’ll coach against his first NFL club and against Rodgers, I guess what goes around comes around.
While Bevell’s Lions captured newfound enthusiasm last Sunday in Chicago against the reeling Bears, his team still stands 5-7 heading into his first interim appearance at Ford Field against a 9-3 Packers team sniffing a second straight NFC North Division title. That could happen if Tampa Bay beats Minnesota and Matt LaFleur’s club takes care of business as 7 1/2 point favorites.
The Packers lead the All-Time Regular Season Series 101-72-7, they’re 2-0 in playoff games but they haven’t played the Lions outdoors in Michigan since 1974, a 19-17 loss at venerable Tiger Stadium in the waning days of the Dan Devine regime. Detroit moved inside the Pontiac Silverdome in 1975 and the Lions won 8 of the first 10 meetings inside and went 17-10 against Green Bay although Mike Holmgren’s first playoff victory came in that building on Sterling Sharpe’s late touchdown grab from Brett Favre in January of 1993. The Lions returned to downtown Detroit when Ford Field opened in 2002 and the Packers have found that building more hospitable going 11-7.
It took some work to win there last season ending a two year drought, falling behind 17-3 at the half before Mason Crosby’s walk off, game winning field goal. Even in this year’s 42-21 rout at Lambeau in September, the Lions pounced on the Pack 14-3 in the first quarter. If a slow start is avoided Sunday, a Lion taming should take place.
When the Packers have the ball.
The numbers are stark. Green Bay’s the NFL scoring leader, Detroit’s 31st in points allowed per game. Aaron Rodgers and the offense is really humming now that Davante Adams and Aaron Jones are making big plays in both phases. Throw in a Robert Tonyan touchdown now and again and I just can’t see Detroit slowing this unit down. There will always be new wrinkles in a division rematch but Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett marvels at how quickly Rodgers can diagnose the differences and attack accordingly, sometimes even on the fly after the snap. Detroit’s rebuilt secondary has had difficulty all season and last week, even the offensively challenged Bears piled up big yardage on the ground. Defensive ends Romeo Okwara (7) and former Viking Everson Griffen (5) can still apply pressure and get sacks but the Packer passing game has been on time and in rhythm all year. The reliance on lengthy protection or extended plays has all but disappeared with LaFleur’s system. Jones will be the catalyst again. He finished a big day against the Eagles with a late 77 yard TD, his second longest scoring run of the year, a 75 yarder, came on the opening snap of the third quarter against the Lions at Lambeau. Success early will open up the entire package and open up a can of worms for the Detroit defenders.
When the Lions have the ball.
I’ve always liked Matthew Stafford’s competitiveness and uncanny ability to release balls at unusual angles and if he gets hot, he can create problems. With Kenny Golladay sidelined for over a month with a hip injury, Stafford has turned to second year tight end T.J. Hockenson who leads the team with 52 receptions and leads the league among tight ends with 614 yards, finding the end zone five times. Marvin Jones can get loose but the Lions came close to cutting him a couple of weeks ago. Detroit ranks 19th in both yards (356.4) and points (23.8) per game. Adrian Peterson still has a violent burst to his game on the ground and he’s mentoring second round pick D’Andre Swift who has showed promising while battling a series of nagging injuries in his rookie year. If the Packers keep those two under wraps, they’ll unleash the pressure package that ruined the Eagles’ overmatched offensive line to the tune of seven sacks last Sunday. Watch for the pressure to come inside as the Lions start third and fourth round draft choices at the guard positions.
Don’t forget the teams.
Jamal Agnew has returned a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown in each of the last three years. We all know what’s happened to the Packer punt cover unit in the past month, giving up a 91 yarder to Jacksonville and a 73 yarder to Philly last week. The special teams have to get cleaned up or it could spoil what might be a special season.
The bottom line.
This appears to be another case of a Packer opponent just not being able to keep up with arguably the league’s most productive offense. Green Bay will get it’s points, can the Lions stay with them? Don’t see it happening. I like the Pack 30-20.
